Obviously, everyone hates the slimy, gross smelling, disease causing mold. But in the décor world, it seems nearly required that one love molding. I, however, have an overabundance of crown molding in my apartment and I’ve struggled with it since the day I moved in. My recent paint color choices have felt hampered by the rows upon rows of crown molding. Then, it suddenly dawned on me – I could just get rid of it. My soul may be damned to décor hell, but at least in this life I’d have walls I can work with.

In a small space you want to be able use everything you have, from floor to ceiling, like you can do in the rooms from Living Etc and Desire to Inspire below. See how your eye can travel without tripping over visual roadblocks of crown molding.

Crown molding can also do great things to a room like these two show. In the first shot the molding beautifually frames the space and creates interest. The traditional room isn’t exactly my style but I can appreciate it. And the more modern take illustrates how molding can do great things for what would otherwise be a bland empty wall space.

But the picture rail I have going around my entire livingroom makes it harder to pick paint colors, harder to furnish, impossible to hang art – it’s just hard to work around. Take a look at my bedroom vs. my livingroom. My bedroom has crown molding at about 10 feet up but no picture rail. I think the room feels more open, less formal and much more flexible. The first shot is before I took the wallpaper down, the second is after. I painted the wallspace above the crown molding chocolate brown when I first moved in, but it’ll all go to neutral pretty soon.

When you look at my livingroom, you see this picture rail at about 5 1/2 feet high and then another strip of molding at the 10ft mark. Your eye moves over the base molding, the picture rail, the midwall molding and then molding at the top of the 12 ft ceilings. I think its just too much.

So there you have it. I’ve decided that the picture rail is coming down. I am prepared to face the decor firing squad. Ready. Aim. FIRE!

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